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A list of 10 things that are essential for the new KSP player to know.
1) Watch some videos. It's a great way to see what goes on in the game, and to learn more tips about it.
2) If you find that your computer is having framerate issues, go into settings and turn down the graphics. It's better to have a high fps and low graphics, than a horrible fps but fantastic graphics.
3) Before you even create a new game, go through all the tutorials. They really help in teaching the controls, how to get into orbit, landing, and how to use things such as maneuver nodes and the symbols on the NavBall.
4) Use sandbox mode first. It can serve as a guide to get you used to the game, and go on to science and career modes. If you load up the game for the first time and pick 'Career' without knowing anything about the game or it's controls, you're gonna have a bad time.
5) Kerbals aren't invincible. If they hit the ground too hard, they will die. If they go through a rocket engine that is on, they will die. If they are going through re-entry, they will also die. To avoid losing all your kerbals while you are starting out in the game, turn on 'Missing Crews Respawn' in the difficulty options menu. Your kerbals will still die, but a few days later they will be back at the Astronaut Complex, ready to go on a mission.
6) Attach parachutes! If something goes wrong, and you want to save your crew, parachutes are vital!
7) Attach a heat shield. A heat shield will protect your craft from the heat of re-entry. If you don't, your craft will most likely explode due to the heat.
8) This is a bit cheaty, but if you want to play the game without your rockets or planes exploding or breaking apart, press ALT + F12. This brings up the debug menu, and allows you to have infinite fuel, RCS and EVA fuel (jetpack fuel), prevent your craft from breaking apart due to weight or high G forces, prevent parts from exploding due to overheating, and allow you to hack gravity (have no gravity on planets).
9) Check your staging! Before you launch your craft, go through the staging (the orange list thing on the right). You don't want your parachutes to deploy when your engines fire, do you?
10) Use the Engineer's Report. This shows all the info about your craft, including it's weight, length, height, and so on, but also tells you for example, if your engines aren't receiving fuel, or if you are going to accidentally discard a fully fuelled part of your rocket due to staging errors.
And there you have it, my top 10 tips for new players in KSP! If I missed anything, or you want me to go over a certain bit, tell me!